Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas: Popular Expressions - What They Mean and Where We Got Them by Judy Parkinson
$9.99 AUD
Category: English Language | Series: I Used to Know That Ser.
How on earth did 'with bells on' come to express enthusiasm? What do chips on shoulders have to do with inferiority complexes? And who is the face that launched a thousand ships? Did you know that 'the rule of thumb' refers to the use of the thumb to make measurements, as the first joint of the average ...Show more
An Apple a Day: Old-Fashioned Proverbs and Why They Still Work by Caroline Taggart
$9.99 AUD
Category: English Language | Series: I Used to Know That ...
From Old Testament proverbs to modern phrases like "the best things in life are free," "An Apple a Day" takes a fun look at expressions that "have stood the test of time." Read through from start to finish or search through the list of hundreds of the most common proverbs, arranged from A to Z for easy ...Show more
Tyrannosaurus Lex: The Marvelous Book of Palindromes, Anagrams, and Other Delightful and Outrageouswordplay by Rod L. Evans
$24.99 AUD
Category: English Language
Welcome to the Weird and Wonderful World of Words! Tyrannosaurus Lex is your guide to the intriguing world of logology--the pursuit of word puzzles or puzzling words--featuring: - A wealth of witty anagrams, palindromes, and puns - Clever paraprosdokians: sentences with surprising endings ("I've had a ...Show more
Where Words Come from: A Dictionary of Word Origins by Fred Sedgwick
$24.99 AUD
Category: English Language
This is an invaluable guide to the fascinating origins of everyday words crafted into pithy annecdotes and facts. Did you know that 'aardvark' comes from the South African for 'earth pig'? Or that 'assassin' actually comes from the Arabic for 'smoker of hashish'? This book explains why 'bungalow' comes ...Show more
The Secret Life of Pronouns by James W Pennebaker
$24.99 AUD
Category: English Language
In "The Secret Life of Pronouns," social psychologist and language expert James W. Pennebaker uses his groundbreaking research in computational linguistics-in essence, counting the frequency of words we use-to show that our language carries secrets about our feelings, our self-concept, and our social in ...Show more
Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors by Bill Bryson
$29.99 AUD
Category: English Language | Reading Level: very good
What is the difference between cant and jargon, or assume and presume? What is a fandango? How do you spell supersede? Is it hippy or hippie? These questions really matter to Bill Bryson, as they do to anyone who cares about the English language. Originally published as The Penguin Dictionary for Writer ...Show more
Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language by Mark Forsyth
$29.99 AUD
Category: English Language | Reading Level: very good
The Horologicon (or book of hours) gives you the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them. Do you wake up feeling rough? Then you're philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That's fudgelling, which may lead to rizzling if you fee ...Show more
Foolish Words by Laura Ward
$19.99 AUD
Category: English Language
Rock star Sting wanted to tell his German audience he was hot on stage. 'Ich bin warm,' he told them, which unfortunately translated as, 'I am gay.' Foolish Words- a book that could easily be re-titled I Wish I Hadn't Said That- takes a huge variety of gaffes, blunders, and faux pascommitted by those in ...Show more
Who Said That First? The Curious Origins of Common Words and Phrases by Max Cryer
$29.99 AUD
Category: English Language | Reading Level: very good
Many bright minds have come up with expressions we now take for granted as part of the English language, and which we use freely in vernacular speech. But the originators of many of our most useful second-hand remarks go uncredited. The Bible and Shakespeare are rich sources of many common phrases, but ...Show more
Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes by Oxford University Press
$32.99 AUD
Category: English Language
From writing poems to writing birthday cards, and from the garret to the classroom, the Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes has what every writer (or budding writer) needs. It contains 45,000 words, including proper names, place names, and foreign terms used in English. The organization and layout are remarkabl ...Show more